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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25623265">Everybody Wins</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadioFreeHayden/pseuds/RadioFreeHayden'>RadioFreeHayden</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dungeons and Daddies (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst i guess??, Canon Divergence, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:16:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,324</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25623265</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadioFreeHayden/pseuds/RadioFreeHayden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> You know you’re on a bad path when you start speaking to Willy fucking Stampler on purpose. For half a second, TJ considers hanging up and abandoning this whole idiotic idea. But no, he needs this, Ron needs this, they don’t have any better options. </i>
</p><p> </p><p>Terry Jr. decides to try a new approach to breaking the anchors.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ron Stampler &amp; Terry Jr., Terry Jr &amp; Nick Close</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. if you just go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Terry Jr. hadn’t thought this plan out very well. It didn’t seem like something that <i>needed</i> to be thought out; all he had to do was pull out his phone and call Nick’s. </p><p>He hadn’t accounted for the fact that he has no clue what Nick’s number is. Before all of this, they weren’t friends, they were just teammates. Teammates who didn’t have each other’s phone numbers. </p><p>He sighs and goes back inside, approaching Nick’s bed as quietly as he can before gently shaking him awake. </p><p>“TJ? What’s up? You okay?”</p><p>“Can you come outside for a second?” TJ whispers. “I need your help with something.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what’s up?” Nick asks again after TJ  shuts the door behind them. </p><p>“What’s your phone number?”</p><p>Nick gives TJ a look he doesn’t quite have a name for, a sort of ‘you’re being dumb but I like you anyway’ half-smirk. “We needed to sneak outside for that?”</p><p>“I figured you’d want to know why I was asking, and I didn’t want to wake everyone else up explaining it.”</p><p>“I mean yeah, I’m curious. You know Bill still has my phone, right?” Nick says, that lightly teasing air still present. </p><p>“I know.”</p><p>“TJ, dude.” He’s completely serious now, quickly dropping the joking tone. “What the fuck are you doing?” </p><p>“I’m just . . .” he looks down at his shoes, then back towards Walter’s house. “I think it’d be easier for everyone if I just went back.”</p><p>“What, to our asshole grandads? Are you crazy? Wasn’t the whole point getting us out of there?” </p><p>“The whole point is getting <i>home</i>,” TJ says. “And trust me, it’ll be a lot easier to do that if I’m not around. The fucking, anchor things? They need good father-son bonding or whatever to get rid of them, and I’m not— my dad’s <i>dead</i>, okay, and Ron .  . . it’s not his fault, but I <i>can’t</i> do this.”</p><p>He always thought Ron was the problem, some asshole who came and invaded his life and messed everything up and just <i>sucked</i>. But it turns out Ron is <i>nice</i>. And he’s funny and weirdly insightful at times and he’s genuinely trying his best. But . . . “He doesn’t know how to be a dad, like, at all, and I don’t know how to keep . . . forgiving him, or whatever, or helping him figure it out, or just . . . anything.”</p><p>It was almost better when he hated him. It was simpler, at least. It made <i>sense</i>. Ron was an asshole, TJ was pissed about it, end of story. But then they had this weird . . . bonding experience, or whatever, and TJ would have liked to let that be the end of it too, to switch from “Ron sucks” to “Ron’s great” and leave it at that.</p><p>But it’s more complicated than that. It’s awkward attempts at conversation and it’s Ron saying accidentally hurtful things that TJ pretends to brush off and it’s TJ snapping and throwing up literal walls when he gets defensive. It’s not an aggressive spell, but if he can do that by mistake, by <i>instinct</i>, who knows what the hell else he might end up doing?</p><p>No matter how you slice it, it’s going to end with someone getting hurt. Terry thought Ron was the problem, but he was wrong, and that leaves only one other option.</p><p><i>Everybody wins if you just</i> go.</p><p>Nick looks like he’s about to say something, stops, starts again. “If you leave, his anchor will still hold him here, though. Right?”</p><p>“I mean, maybe? But it’s based on father-son bonds, so if I  just . . . give our grandparents what they want and let them be the dads, Ron will be free to go.”</p><p>Nick looks skeptical, and TJ scowls. “Look, I’m not an expert, okay? I read, like, one book. But I know this isn’t going to work—” he gestures vaguely off in the distance, presumably in the general direction of the Oaks' anchor—“so I’m going to try something that might give them a chance. So are you gonna give me the number or not?”</p><p>“Free to go . . .” Nick murmurs under his breath, then shakes his head, bringing his focus back. “Okay, yeah. Here, let me—” He takes the phone from TJ and starts typing his number. He pauses before handing it back.“I’m coming with you, though."</p><p>He looks completely unswayable. Not fierce, exactly, but firm. </p><p>It’s not something TJ’s used to seeing from Nick. He doesn’t argue, just accepts the phone and hits <i>call</i>.</p><p>“What do you want?” Bill answers. </p><p>“Mr. Close? It’s Terry. I’m here with Nick, and we . . .” Goddamnit, he should have rehearsed this. He <i>did</i> rehearse it, but Nick threw him off and now he’s lost. “You were right. You guys are the better dads, and we’re sick of this, and can you please come pick us up? Or tell us where to find you?”</p><p>There’s some muttering in the background, and then: “Terry Jr.” Willy’s voice. Fuck. </p><p>“Yes, sir?”</p><p>“I hear you’re finally done traipsing around with those pathetic excuses for men.”</p><p>You know you’re on a bad path when you start speaking to Willy fucking Stampler on purpose. For half a second, TJ considers hanging up and abandoning this whole idiotic idea. But no, he needs this, <i>Ron</i> needs this, they don’t have any better options. </p><p>“Yes sir.”</p><p>“Explain to me why I should believe this isn’t a trap. Our sons aren’t exactly clever, it’s not that fucking difficult to figure they might want to bait us into some kind of ambush.”</p><p>“I’m not afraid of them.”</p><p>“Pardon?”</p><p>“They can’t scare me into wanting to help them with some stupid plan, I honestly barely know most of them, and I don’t like Ron enough to be doing him any favors.” He needs to sell this, so he keeps going. “Honestly, <i>fuck</i> Ron. His life wasn’t working out so he decided he deserved a place in my mom’s? In mine? I hate that; I hate him; he <i>killed my dad</i> and now he’s <i>still</i> trying to replace him, and I’m tired of being some sort of . . . test dummy for him to figure out how to act like a person. I don’t <i>owe</i> him anything, I’m not gonna help him plan a dumb attack.”</p><p>TJ’s lying. Probably.</p><p>Willy doesn’t say anything, but TJ can just feel the tension across the phone. He and Nick haven’t lost this battle yet, but he’s not sure they’ve won, either.</p><p>Nick nudges his shoulder. “Also they’re not even here."</p><p>“Yeah, they left to go deal with . . . something,” TJ trails off; he's not sure how much Willy knows about the anchors and the dads' plans and where they're going. He's not gonna be responsible for revealing that. “You can go dream-spy on them or whatever if you need confirmation that they’re not sitting around waiting to ambush you.” His tone is sharper than he intended, and he bites back an apology. Better not to draw attention to it, in case Willy didn’t pick up on it.</p><p>The silence on the other end draws on too long. “Sir?”</p><p>“The whole point of this endeavor was to get you away from those incompetant idiots, into the hands of people who know how the fuck to raise a child,” Willy says. “You and Nicholas seem to have finally come to your senses, so, yes. We’ll retrieve you. Where are you?”</p><p>“We’re—” he hesitates for half a second. “We’re just outside of Roqueporte.” Not true, but they can get to the edge of town pretty quickly, and the further away from Walter and Grant they are before the grandfathers show up, the better. </p><p>“We’ll see you soon.” </p><p>Willy hangs up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. a different tone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just for the record, I went back and retconned a few things in the first chapter--nothing you'd really need to reread it for, just changed it so that the dads are off dealing with the Oak anchor rather than sleeping at Walter's.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Of all the places in Faerun Nick  thought he might choose to return to, he wouldn’t have put Castle Ravenloft at the top of the list. Going back to Waterdeep and hanging with the gang? Sure. The Bull E Wugs he and Glenn ran to after the Battle of the Bands debacle? Not the worst joint he’s seen. And Nick’s never been there, but the Fortnite place Grant described seemed cool . . .</p><p>But Ravenloft? The castle itself was cool, but the place was full of bad vibes. And it’s not like they were ever allowed to actually explore the place. Last time he was here, Nick spent the whole time itching to get the hell out. </p><p>So. It’s weird coming back on  purpose. </p><p>At least the trip is better this time around—getting picked up in some weird chariot thing definitely beats getting possessed at Fantasy Applebee’s.</p><p>Ravenloft itself is . . . the same but different. Nick doesn’t know how to describe it. After their arrival and a whole spiel from Willy about how he’s so glad they came to their senses, Ron and Glenn and the rest of the dads are fucking morons, blah blah blah et cetera, Willy and Bill ignore Nick and TJ as much as they did before. There’s the same air of anticipation, the same feeling of waiting for <i>something</i> that no one wants to bother with explaining. But there’s a different tone to it, somehow.</p><p>The weirdest part, though? Willy’s <i>happy</i>. It’s disconcerting. The last time Nick saw him this pleased, Grant showed up covered in guts. The thought that he and TJ have done something to make him this happy again kind of makes Nick want to puke.</p><p>He tries to push the thought out of his head, but it’s tricky when there’s nothing to replace it with. Not that Nick doesn’t know how to entertain himself, it’s just that at home he has things to do instead of just sitting in a weird blue room all day. And even without things to do, he can just zone out and chill in his own headspace, but everything about Ravenloft keeps him just on edge enough that it’s hard to detach himself from the situation.</p><p>He’d talk to Terry, but he doesn’t have anything to say. He usually doesn’t—he’s not like his dad, he isn’t full of awesome stories about touring and being a rock n roll hero. Any cool stories he does have, TJ’s already heard by now.</p><p>Nick’s usually pretty content to sit back and just watch things unfold, to chill on the other side of the room and pretend he’s not eavesdropping. Can’t look uncool if you don’t engage, plus he learns things sometimes. </p><p>It’s tricky to do when there’s only him and one other person. He misses the Oaks, honestly. They’re a lot, but at least they’re never boring. </p><p>Bill gave him books last time, and that helped with the boredom. But he’s not sure it’s smart to ask the grands for anything right now, so he passes the days just looking at the walls, tapping his fingers, occasionally having completely forgettable exchanges with TJ, trying to push away the constant almost-sinister energy of the place. </p><p>And then, after who knows how long (a couple days? Weeks? Time gets weird around here, and it’s hard to keep track when everything always looks the same), Barry Oak comes back, and the whole vibe shifts.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. a solid third place</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Sorry, you said you <i>DON’T HAVE OUR KIDS?</i>”</p>
<p>Walter the Immoral is having a very bad day. Probably the third worst day in his life, in fact, right after: 1. The day he got cursed and his son and wife rejected him, and 2. Approximately five days ago when he woke up to find Nick and Terry Jr. missing. </p>
<p>That had been bad for the obvious reason—the kids might be hurt or dead or kidnapped again, and it was his fault—but also because for once, he’d felt like he was doing something right. It wasn’t easy, but he was getting the hang of taking care of the kids; he was getting better at dodging bounty hunters and keeping an eye on them, better at figuring out what they need—non-life-threatening ways for the Oaks to mess around,  a solid(ish) day-to-day routine for Terry Jr, someone to listen to Nick when he talks about cool plant facts. Grant is harder to place, but Walter tries to be there for him.</p>
<p>The kids aren’t his to love, but he’s been trying to care for them as best he can, and he was doing a pretty decent job. </p>
<p>Or he thought he was, anyway, until he woke up to find two of them gone with absolutely zero trace. Compared to that feeling of panic, guilt, and absolute dread, getting confronted by the dads about it is . . .</p>
<p>Well. Not good. A solid third place, though. </p>
<p>They all speak at once.</p>
<p>“When did this happen?”</p>
<p>“How could you—”</p>
<p>“Was it Willy?”</p>
<p>“Was there any sort of purple mist, or weird voices, or—”</p>
<p>“Is Grant okay?”</p>
<p>“Were you keeping an eye on them?”</p>
<p>“Did you lock the door?”</p>
<p>The last question comes from Ron, and it somehow jars Walter back into remembering to speak. “Of course I locked the door, I’m not an idiot—”</p>
<p>“Well, sir,  we gave you one job—not even gave it to you, you offered—” Darryl says, “—which was to look after the kids, and you lost two of the three kids we last left you with, so forgive us if we’re not—”</p>
<p>Glenn interrupts him. “Yeah, man, and you didn’t even tell us our kids were gone? That’s jacked up!”</p>
<p>“I tried to,” he protests, “Erin went to find you guys and she said no one answered her—”</p>
<p>Darryl turns towards the trees. “Hey, Erin!”</p>
<p>Great. Twenty seconds in and this conversation is spiraling out of control already. Not that Walter expected anything different. The truth of the matter is, Darryl’s right: he had one job, which was to keep the kids safe, and he completely screwed it up. </p>
<p>“What now?” Erin appears, already looking exhausted with this conversation, and Walter feels even worse. It isn’t her problem; it isn’t fair she keeps getting dragged into it. </p>
<p>“Erin, you knew Walter lost our kids?” Walter hasn’t known Darryl long, but he’s familiar with this tone of his. This . . . projection of authority and disappointment that always feels a half-step away from condescension. </p>
<p>“Yeah,” she says, “I <i>tried</i> to tell you guys, I appeared in <i>Oak Vale</i> for you assholes, and no one fucking answered, so you <i>really</i> can’t put this on me.”</p>
<p>Henry  ignores Darryl and Erin. “Walter, you were supposed to keep the kids safe.” There’s panic creeping into his voice.</p>
<p>“I was trying! I locked the door, I watched the kids, I kept an eye out for the bounty hunters, I don’t know what <i>happened</i>.”</p>
<p>“What about their emotional safety? Did they feel free to express themselves?  Were you listening to them?  Did  you respect their decisions?”</p>
<p>“Henry, that’s not the point,” Darryl snaps. </p>
<p>“OF COURSE IT’S THE POINT!” he erupts. “Could they have left if they wanted to, would you respect that—” that note of panic in his voice keeps rising. </p>
<p>“Well, no,” Walter says, “I was supposed to keep them in my care, I—”</p>
<p>“Yeah, that is literally what we asked him to do, Henry,” Darryl says. “Did you want him to let Nicholas and Terry wander off into God knows where and get kidnapped again?”</p>
<p>“<i>Maybe</i> not everything is <i>about</i> physical <i>safety,</i> DARRYL; maybe you should prioritize not <i>traumatizing your kid</i> over breaking a blood pact that <i>YOU MADE—</i>”</p>
<p>“We were in <i>agreement</i> about how to break the blood pact, and even if we weren’t, what was I supposed to do? Let my son die? Huh, Henry?” When Henry gets angry, he flails wildly, limbs flying everywhere like his body can’t contain all the energy that’s built up under his skin. Darryl is just the opposite: he plants himself, his unyielding posture becoming a challenge of its own. “Would you feel more woke if we’d murdered him?”</p>
<p>“You need to consider things outside of just getting out of an immediate situation, you can’t ignore <i>all of the damage</i> you’re doing along the way and treat everything as a means to an end! You don’t get to call all the shots because it makes you feel more like a MAN to shove all of that down and keep moving regardless of the emotional consequences—”</p>
<p>“If we don’t keep moving we’ll probably <i>die</i>!”</p>
<p>“And if we do we might destroy something! You have to think about the—the interpersonal fallout and wreckage—”</p>
<p>“Henry, none of this is relevant,” Darryl isn’t yelling, but he’s clearly <i>pissed</i>. “We need to focus on the fact that some of our kids are gone, <i>again</i>, not whatever . . . toxic masculinity crisis you’re working through.”</p>
<p>Henry looks ready to release another mile-long stream of arguments, but he doesn’t get a chance to, because a bat hits him in the face. “Wha—”</p>
<p>Walter follows Henry’s gaze to the left, where his eyes land on a miserable-looking Ron, holding the Hat of Vermin in his hands. “I just wanted everyone to stop yelling.”</p>
<p>“Oh, jeez,” Henry says. “Oh, <i>fuck</i>, I’m sorry, Ron, are you okay? Do you need anything, some water, or . . . a hug, or—”</p>
<p>Glenn places a hand on his shoulder, silencing him. “Why don’t we sit down for a second, yeah?”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Grant only half-listens as his dad, Walter, Erin, and the rest of the dads sit in a circle and hash out everything that happened in the past few days. Across from him, Lark and Sparrow seem to be hanging on every word, and Paeden chimes in every couple of sentences, but Grant just can’t seem to force himself to engage much further than clocking the initial reactions (his dad and Henry obviously flipped out; Ron seems scared and keeps asking the same questions—where's Terry? Did he say anything before he left? Is he okay? Where could he have gone?—and Glenn honestly seems unfazed, though he does keep asking Erin if she saw and signs of "fucked up paranormal shit.")</p>
<p>It’s not like paying more attention would tell Grant all that much. It’s just an endless reiteration of stuff he already knows: Nick and TJ went missing. No one has any clue why it happened or where they are; Walter and Grant and Erin have been looking. Grant is still here.</p>
<p>As self-centered as it is, that’s the bit that he's stuck on. He doesn’t know what happened to the others, but he does know that the number one group interested in kidnapping them is their grandparents, and last he knew, they wanted him, too. He was always the spare kid, maybe they don’t need that anymore, and maybe he should be grateful for that, but what does it mean that they no longer need a backup plan?</p>
<p>Thinking about it makes him anxious. Not in a jittery, nervous way, but in a way that feels kind of like watching the beginning of a horror movie, but worse because it’s real and he can’t predict the ending. He wonders if his dad has felt like this at all since being here. He sort of wants to ask, and that’s . . . new. He’s not even really used to the idea that maybe his dad would understand.</p>
<p>He probably won’t actually ask. He doesn’t know how to bring it up, or, more importantly, <i>when</i> to bring it up. It was nice to finally talk back at the stadium, and Grant’s pretty sure he believes his dad about it not being a one-time thing, but they did that and then had to keep moving forward. Had to drop Grant off with this Walter guy who he barely knows, so they can focus on destroying the other dads’ anchors and getting home. Grant shouldn’t be bitter about it, but . . . he misses his dad. </p>
<p>Even right now, when he’s right here, because he <i>knows</i> they’re not going to get a good chance to talk, and he knows he’s not good enough at this shit to <i>make</i> a good chance. And they have to worry about finding Nick and TJ first.</p>
<p>Grant is here. He’s fine. </p>
<p>They’ll talk later.</p>
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